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(No Model.)

J. D. THOMPSON. WASTE CHUTE EUR APARTMENT HOUSES.

No. 696,666. Patented Jan. 4, 1696.

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I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JEFFERSON D. THOMPSON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

WASTE-CHUTE FOR APARTMENT HOUSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,686, dated January 4, 1898. Application led April 22, 1897. Serial No. 633,293. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEFFERSON D. THOMP- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Waste-Chutes for Apartment Houses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to waste-chutes for apartment houses or analogous structures, and is designed to afford a simple and practical means for conveying garbage, ashes, -or other refuse matter from the various floors or stories of the building to a suitable repository located in the basement or cellar of the same.

The particular object of the invention is to provide an improved hopper attachment for the chute which will effectually prevent the escape of noxious gases orfumes from the deposited garbage and the dust from ashes entering the room or other place wherein the said hopper is located, the construction of the device being such that the passage-way leading from the hopper to the chute will at all times be cut off or shut.

Briefly stated, the invention consists in the combination, with a chute, of a hopper extending outward therefrom and opening thereinto and into the apartment, a hinged door or lid closing the opening into the apartment, a dumping tray or pan arranged within the hopper and carrying a pinion or pinions, circular racks or segments attached to the hinged door or lid and meshing with the said pinions in such a manner that when the said lid or door is closed the tray or pan will be dumped, emptying its contents into the chute, and when the door is opened the tray will be turned into position to receive the waste matter and at the same time eifectually close the entrance to the chute, thereby preventing the escape into the apartment of noxious fumes issuing therefrom. The construction is also such that when the lid or door is closed the pan or tray in its dumped or turned position will also act to close the passage leading to the chute, so as to effect a double seal or closure of the passage.

To these'and other ends the invention consists in the novel features of construction and new arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims which conclude this specification.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my said invention, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being had for this purpose to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a perspectiveview of a waste chute and hopper constructed in accordance with myinvention, the door or lid being partly open. Fig. 2 is avertical longitudinal section of the same, showing the lid` closed in full lines and open in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section looking at the front of the hopper when the lid is closed. i Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the front of the hopper, showing the position of the dumping pan or tray when the lid or door is closed. Fig. 5 is a similar detail view looking at the rear of the hopper. Fig. 6 is a similar detail view of the rear of the hopper, showing the position of the pan or tray when the lid or door is open.

Referring now to the drawings, the reference-numeral 1 designates a chute which in practice extends from the cellar or basement of a building to the upper story. This chute may be made of galvanized iron or other sheet meta-l, or it may be a brick iiue built into the wall. At each floor of the building I arrange one of my improved hopper attachments, which is attached to and extends outward from the chute, said hopper consisting of the two side walls 2, a top wall 3, a short rear wall 3, and an inclined front or bottom wall 4L, the said top wall being arranged somewhat above and in rear of the upper edge of the front wall, so as to provide an opening to gain access to the interior of the hopper. This opening is closed by a lid or door 5, which is hinged to the top wall 3 by hinges 4. and provided on its under side near each side edge with a downwardly and rearwardly extending wing 6, to the inner approaching faces of each of which is secured a curved rack or segment 7, for a purpose presently to be described. Arranged around the inner side, front,and rear walls of the hopper, on a line with the lower edge of the opening, are inwardly-extending side flanges 8 and end anges 9, as shown in IOO detail in Figs. i, 5, and 6, the rear half of the said side flanges 8 being bent downward parallel with the side walls, as at 10.

The reference-numeral 12 indicates a horizontal shaft that extendsthrough the center of the hopper on a line with the lower edge of the rear wall 3, said shaft being journaled in the side walls 2 of the hopper and having one end bent to form a crank-handle 13. Detachably keyed to said shaft within thel hopper are two gear-wheels or pinions 14 14, said gear-wheels being located close to the side walls 2 of the hopper directly below'and in mesh with the circular racks or segments 7. To the said shaft and gear-wheels is attached in any suitable manner a semicircular pan or tray 15, whichI designate a dumping-tray. This tray is provided with front and rear end flanges 16, which in practice rest upon or against the end flanges 9 of the hopper and afford a close union of the parts, so that no spaces or cracks will be left throughwhich fumes or dust can escape.

The operation of the device will be obvious from the foregoing description. Normally the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2, in which case the hinged lid or door is shown as closed and the pan or tray inverted or dumped, whereby any refuse matter contained therein will fall into the hopper on the inclined front wall, from whence it is discharged into the chute. In this position the end flanges of the said pan rest against the inwardly-extendin g end flanges of the hopper.

When it is desired to gain access to the interior of the hopper, the handle is rotated,which in turn rotates the gears, causing the pan to turn and at the same time imparting motion to the circular racks or segments, thereby rais- The dumping-pan being ing the lid or door. attached to the gears it will be seen that any motion given them will be likewise given the pan. to operate the pinions and dump the tray it will be apparent that they may be operated by simply opening and closing the lid or door itself, and for this purpose I have provided the latter with a handle 17. Obviously any movement given the lid or door carrying the racks or segments will drive the said pinions and with them the dumping-tray.

From the foregoing description of the device it will be seen that the passage leading into the chute will be tightly closed by the dumping-pan when the door is open and that a double closure or seal will be eected by the pan and lid or door when the latter is closed. An important feature of the dumping tray or pan is that it acts as a cut-off between the hopper and open air both in its receiving and dumping or -inverted positions,

and the close connection formed by the flanges on the hopper and pan effectually prevent the escape of fumes or dust through the hopper.

Vhen it is desired to remove the pan -or tray for any purpose, as for cleaning or the like, it is simply necessary to remove the Instead of employing a crank-handlevv keys or pins 18, when the shaft 12 can be withdrawn entirely from the hopper, thereby freeing it from the pinions and allowing the pan to be lifted out.

The hopper, pan, and chute are preferably made of galvanized iron or other sheet metal and the construction of the parts is such as to render the device light, simple, durable, and easy and inexpensive of manufacture.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise details shown and described, as obvious changes will suggest themselves to the skilled mechanic.

It will be understood that the device may' be made of any size, and the shape may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a chute, of a hopper extending outward therefrom and communicating therewith and having an opening in its front wall, a lid or door arranged to close said opening, a dumping pan or tray arranged to turn within the hopper and adapted to close the passage leading to the chute in either its normal or inverted position, and a connection between said lid and dumpingpan whereby the latter is turned when the door is opened or closed, substantially as described. v

2. The combination with a chute, of a hopper communicating therewith and extending outward therefrom and having an opening in its front wall, a lid or door hinged to the said hopper and adapted to close said opening, racks carried by the door, a dumping-pan mounted to turn within the hopper and arranged to close the passage leading to the chute, and gear-wheels carried by the dumping-pan and with which said racks mesh, the parts being so arranged that a movement of the lid will cause a movement of the pan and vice versa, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a chute, of a hopper communicating therewith and extending outward therefrom and havingan opening in its front wall, alid or door hinged to said hopper and adapted to close the opening therein, circular racks or segments .carried by the door, a horizontal shaft j ournaled in the walls of the hopper and having a crank-handle at one end, pinions secured to the shaft and meshing with the racks, and a dumping-pan secured to said pinions and arranged to close the passage leading to the chute, substantially as described.

et. The combination with a chute, of a hopper extending outward therefrom and communicating therewith and having an opening in its front wall, a lid or door hinged to the hopper and adapted to close the said opening, circular racks carried by the door, inwardlyextending flanges secured to the interior side and end walls of the hopper, a dumping-pan mounted to turn within the hopper and close the passage leading to the chute, said pan IOD IIO

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being provided with end flanges which seat against the end flanges on the hopper, and gear-wheels carried by the dumping-pan and meshing with the racks, the parts being so arranged that a movement of the lid Will cause a movement of the pan and Vice versa, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JEFFERSON D. THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

J. GRANVILLE MEYERS, Jr., L. H. MEYERS. 

